Konstanzer YC Win Hamburg Finale(Hamburg, Germany)- After sailing 183 races over 15 racing days in five regattas, eighteen sailing clubs converged from all over Germany to participate in the grand finale of the 2014 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga series sailed in J/70s on Hamburg’s Alster Lake. As one of the co-hosts for this incredibly successful regatta, the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) club hoped their sailing team would continue their winning ways from the previous year (they were 2013 DSB Champions) and would, again, be crowned champion for the 2014 series. Starting off with a substantial 18 pit lead over the rest of the fleet, Team NRV did not disappoint the cheering home team club members, taking a third in the Hamburg finale to win the overall DSB Championship by a commanding lead of 24 pts!
The first day of sailing on the spectacular Alster Lake right in the middle of Hamburg could not have bee nicer, a balmy breeze only permitted jus six races to be completed, just two for each club. Nevertheless, it was clear the Konstanzer YC team liked the conditions, taking two 1sts to be leading the regatta right out of the starting gate. Sitting on 2nd and 3rd, respectively, were Schweriner YC and Flensburger SC.
"Even though it did not look good, we were very lucky! Although we have little wind from our home waters, our two victories today were associated with great luck," said Arne Gülzow, the skipper of the leading Konstanzer YC team.
Day
two saw a total of 27 races sailed in the light winds with several
teams suffering penalties and OCS’s. After a slight postponement in the
morning, the wind filled in steadily with bright sunshine to spoil the
cheering crowds along the waterfront of both the NRV and Hamburger
Segel-Club. The 9 races sailed by each team produced some surprising
results! After the day’s racing, Konstanzer YC continued their hold on
first place, with Kieler YC flying up the standings into second overall
with Berliner YC hanging onto third. Kieler YC’s record for the day was
an astounding 5-2-1-2-2-1-3, no other club was even close on this
amazing day for the Baltic Sea based team. Could they continue their
dramatic climb up the ladder, or would they become another “Icarus” and
crash to Earth the next day? Only time would tell.The final day saw more challenging wind conditions with just 6 races sailed. Nevertheless, after 45 races sailed, 15 for each club, the team from Lake Constance triumphed in the end to win the last regatta of the 2014 DSB. Konstanzer YC’s team of Tino Ellegast, Stefan Schneider, Arne Gülzow and Alex Runciman sailed a beautiful series, closing out their remarkably steady scoreline with a 2-2-4-2-3-2 to win by four pts. Taking second Berliner YC by winning a tie-breaker over NRV with both teams sitting on 49 pts. The star that “fell from grace with the sea” happened to be, sadly enough, Kieler YC; plummeting from second overall after Saturday’s racing down to 10th place.
As a result of their 3rd place, the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (Hamburg), won the overall silver championship trophy by Robbe & Berking with a total of 104 pts, 24 pts clear of the next team. Taking second overall was Deutscher Touring YC with 80 pts and just 2 pts back in third place was Verein Seglerhaus am Wannsee.
Hamburg's
Mayor, Michael Neumann, congratulated the winners and was pleased the
DSB Championship was hosted by Hamburger SC on the pretty Alster Lake,
commenting that, “the introduction of the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga has
been an enormous hit for sailors in Germany and it was an honor that
Hamburg was selected for the finals. The City is pleased to be able to
contribute to the success story of the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga and I
certainly hope that the final will also be held in Hamburg in the
future!”While the Hamburg football (soccer) clubs have failed to make it to any German or European Championship, the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein has reigned supreme, masters of their domain sailing J/70 one-designs. The NRV stand again this year at the top of the podium. The entire twelve-man squad for NRV accepted the silver trophy by Robbe & Berking and celebrated another victory with the obligatory champagne shower. "A better ending this season could not have been imagined by any of us! It was terrific to sail before our home crowd and to win the title a second time. This is a victory for our whole club,” said helmsman Johannes Polgar. The NRV team also includes Florian Spalteholz, Klaas Höpcke and Leon Pass.
Said Oliver Schwall, Managing Director of the Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga, “we are grateful for our numerous partners and sponsors that made the 2014 DSB such a tremendous success. We would like to highlight some of them, including Vattenfall consulting, Hanse Boot boat show, Audi AG cars, Marine-Pool clothing, Mittelmans Werft J/Dealership, North Sails and SAP AG software!” For more J/70 Deutsche Segel-Bundesliga sailing information
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